Shen Qing opened his eyes and turned to look over.
A man dressed in a bright red robe was leaning against the dust-covered pillar with a smile on his face, looking out of place in the dilapidated surroundings.
His red robe fluttered gently in the breeze, outlining his perfect figure. He tilted his head slightly, a joyful smile on his handsome face. His narrow eyes curved into a beautiful crescent shape, gleaming with a brilliant light, like fallen stars. Beneath his high nose, his thin lips curled slightly, his smile carrying a touch of uninhibited freedom.
The dilapidated scene around him no longer seemed so miserable and sad in contrast to him.
"Oh, a beauty from the deserted temple." As soon as Chen Qing spoke, the man's cool figure almost lost its shape. "I lost my way. You are so handsome!"
"Hahaha, thank you for the compliment, beautiful lady." The man in red folded his fan and said, "My name is Jiang Zhuo. May I know your name, beautiful lady?"
"Chen Qing."
"Qingqing, what a nice name."
...isn't that a bit too ambiguous?
Shen Qing looked around the environment of the dilapidated temple, and then his eyes fell on Jiang Zhuo again.
"Is this your home?"
"No." Jiang Zhuo walked over to Chen Qing and looked at the Buddha statue with her. "Ruined temples, ruined Buddha statues, murder and arson..."
Jiang Zhuo lowered his head, leaned close to Shen Qing's ear and spoke with a smile.
"Qingqing, I'm here... to dispose of the body."
"You're sick." Shen Qing reached out and calmly pushed Jiang Zhuo away.
"Qingqing, are you here just to pray and make a wish?" Jiang Zhuo opened his fan and waved it, a hint of inquiry in his eyes. "Do you know why this temple is so dilapidated? Why is there no one offering sacrifices?"
"Why?"
"This temple is called Qingshan Temple. Five years ago, there was an endless stream of people coming here to pray. But then, a group of bandits came from the mountains to the north..."
The bandits committed all kinds of atrocities, such as burning, killing, looting and so on. On the night of the full moon, they killed all the pilgrims staying there and massacred the entire Qingshan Temple in blood.
No matter the elderly, children, or even stray dogs on the roadside, they were not spared. The imperial court sent troops to encircle and suppress the bandits more than once, and finally eliminated the bandit nest on the North Mountain, but it also paid a heavy price.
After so many years, the rain has washed away the bloodstains of Qingshan Temple, but it cannot wash away the shadow that the Qingshan Temple tragedy has brought to people.
Some people say that they have heard the wailing of wronged souls outside Qingshan Temple on a rainy night.
"So, the Buddha, who has been exposed to so much blood and gore, has probably turned into..." Jiang Zhuo stood behind Shen Qing and looked up at the Buddha statue with her. "Demon, Buddha."
Shen Qing sneered. She was not frightened by Jiang Zhuo's story at all. She still looked at the Buddha statue devoutly. "I don't ask for much. I just hope that the Buddha will bless me so that I can feed my donkey and me."
When mentioning the donkey, Shen Qing seemed to hear faint howling outside. She exhaled slightly and turned to say goodbye to Jiang Zhuo.
"My donkey can't wait any longer, so I won't accompany you anymore." Shen Qing stopped at the door and turned back to kindly remind him, "If you are afraid, please get down the mountain as soon as possible. Because it will rain tonight."
Jiang Zhuo raised his eyebrows without saying anything, staring at Chen Qing's departing back, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.
Interesting, really interesting!
After Shen Qing left, a black-clad guard appeared out of thin air behind Jiang Zhuo.
"Sir, do you want me to go..." The guard made a gesture of wiping his neck.
"No need, go check her identity." Wouldn't it be a pity to kill such an interesting person?
“Chen Qing…”
As soon as Shen Qing walked out of the temple gate, she heard the deafening donkey bray. She scratched her ears, quickly walked down the stairs and slapped the donkey.
"What are you calling? Aren't you back?"
"You scream even when I hit you, and you scream even when I don't hit you."
"What? Did you enjoy it?"
While Chen Qing was muttering and complaining, he untied the rope tied to the tree and looked back at the dilapidated temple before leaving.
"Seventh point, who was that man just now?"
It definitely wasn’t the male protagonist, otherwise Seventh Point would have transformed into the donkey she was leading and started howling.
"Jiang Zhuo, the son of the Prime Minister and the current Supreme Court Justice, is the biggest villain in the book. He is the hero's most powerful enemy. At the end of the story, he severely injures the heroine and is beheaded by the hero in front of the Golden Throne Hall."
It seems like his and her goals are pretty much the same. He wants to kill the hero, and she wants to kill everyone. Great.
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-three."
She's nineteen now, so not too far behind. No generation gap, that's great.
"Are you getting married?"
"Not yet." Point Seven paused. Why was she asking these questions? "Why are you asking this?"
It is very good to keep oneself clean and not get involved in love but in career.
Shen Qing held the donkey with one hand and picked up a dogtail grass with the other hand and put it in his mouth.
He was from the capital, so he certainly wouldn't stay in that dilapidated temple for long. She would go back tomorrow to check. If he had already left, then the dilapidated temple would be hers.
Indeed, Shen Qing had thought the dilapidated temple was a good place. Behind the Buddhist hall were several rooms, large enough to accommodate everyone in the village. And after hearing Jiang Zhuo's story, she liked it even more.
"You stupid donkey, do you think a bandit living in a dilapidated temple will shorten his lifespan?" Chen Qing asked his mount sincerely.
The donkey didn't respond.
The next day, Shen Qing came to the ruined temple again and searched every corner, but found no trace of Jiang Zhuo. She quickly asked someone to pack up their things and move into the ruined temple before dark.
"Boss, do I really have to shave it off? It will be too ugly!" One-Eye touched his beard with heartache. He really couldn't bear to part with his hair and beard.
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